TV actor, producer and screenwriter
Valentine Palmer sets out to write the definitive account of the
Titanic’s sinking. As the 100th anniversary of the fateful night
approaches, Palmer follows up innumerable conflicting stories and
theories that still, to this day, surround the doomed liner.

Charles Herbert Lightoller, Palmer’s great
uncle, was the highest ranking surviving officer from the disaster. It
was only after the great man’s death in 1952 that his sister, Gertrude,
Palmer’s eccentric grandmother, began to hint to her young grandson of
the contradictory accounts of both her brother’s supposed heroism and
his suspect testimonies at the investigations into the sinking. Palmer’s
grandmother doesn’t accuse Joseph Bruce Ismay, Managing Director of the
White Star Line, in so many words. Rather, she chooses to address her
grandson in riddles, which have taken him a lifetime to interpret. This,
Grandma Gertrude hints, is the man who made her brother ‘an offer he
couldn’t refuse’!

In-depth research by a number of parties
over the past 100 years reveals that something was not quite right about
the testimonies of both Ismay and Lightoller. Britain’s preparation for
possible war with Germany, tales of gold and priceless treasures aboard
the doomed liner and a possible insurance fraud of unimaginable
complexity are just some of the mysteries and possible conspiracies that
Palmer seeks to shed new light on in this fascinating book.

With dogged determination he works his way
through the revelations of his great aunt, Lightoller’s widow, and his
maternal grandmother’s hints of cover-ups at the highest level. Palmer’s
searches take him through the maze of conflicting testimonies and
reported conversations from survivors. His task becomes ever more
daunting as he sees the truth, like his great uncle’s honour, become
increasingly shrouded in the mists of time.

ABOUT VALENTINE PALMER

Valentine has spent some 35 years on
both sides of the camera in the world of media and
entertainment. His early career embraced leading roles in
London’s West End (Bill Sikes in ‘Oliver!’), as well as
appearances in many of Britain’s best loved TV series (‘Doctor
Who’, ‘Minder’). However, it was his writing skills developed in
producing commercials and corporate video that led Valentine to
screenwriting assignments in Hollywood and his debut as a
feature director with his low budget hit, ‘Fanny Hill’.

As well as his screenwriting work,
Valentine trains top business people (Cisco Systems, Deutsche
Bank) from around the world in personal communication skills. In
this role his coaching has been seen on various reality
programmes on both BBC TV and Channel 5.